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Justin Browning was predicted to get a first class degree at Durham University

Tributes have been paid to an "exemplary" British student who died after falling from a high-rise building in Japan during new year celebrations.

Durham University student Justin Browning was part-way through his year abroad at Waseda University in Tokyo.

It is thought the history student had gone to the top of the building to watch a fireworks display.

Staff at the university said they had been left "shocked and saddened" at the 21-year-old's sudden death.

'Model student'

Prof Jo Fox, head of history, said: "Justin was one of our very best students and was clearly on course for a strong first class degree. He demonstrated passion for history and in particular the history of Japan and China.

"We had recently heard that Justin's second year extended project on Tibetan Buddhist folklore and ethnicity had just been accepted for publication in the Princeton Journal of East Asian Studies. We are incredibly proud of him.

"He was a model student - funny, committed, sharp, independent, and very well-liked by all."

Anthony Bash, honorary professor at Durham University and senior tutor of Hatfield College, praised the "exemplary student" who was in the third year of his degree.

"Justin's untimely death has shocked and saddened everyone connected with Hatfield and the wider university. He will be greatly missed," he said.

A Foreign Office spokesman said: "We are providing support to the family of a British national following their death in Tokyo, Japan on 1 January 2017."